Friday
Box Office Results - Pearl Harbor Lower Than Expected
(by digitalmediafx.com) Pearl Harbor opened with $18.3
million yesterday, lower than analyst predictions. Analysts may
be forced to downsize their predictions of a $100 million four-day
weekend to more along the lines of $80 million. Despite nearly
unanimous negative reviews, the movie is expected to do well in
the long term both in the U.S. and overseas. Also, despite the
mass negative critical reviews, exit polls are showing mostly
positive reviews from audiences.

Meanwhile,
Shrek continued very strong, bringing in $9.7 million on
Friday to bring its 8 day total to $66.2 million. Shrek
should easily cross the $100 million threshold before the first
of June and could become the highest-grossing non-Disney movie
ever before Atlantis: The Lost Empire is released on June
15, 2001. By the end of June, Shrek could break into the
Top
10 Animated Films of all Time list.

A.I. Video
Games to be Xbox Exclusive(by digitalmediafx.com) The upcoming FX adventure movie AI
will also become a series of three video games exclusively for
Microsoft's Xbox video game console which launches on November
8, 2001. Under the agreement, the game won't be reproduced for
other console systems, although one of the planned games (a puzzle
game) may be reproduced on the PC platform. The games for the
Xbox will be considered "interactive sequels" to the
movie.

"I wanted
the games that will be inspired by AI to be creative and
groundbreaking," said Steven Spielberg, who directs AI"Microsoft
really understands the AI concept and presented me with
a series of games scenarios that were out of this world."

No further
details on the gameplay of the "interactive sequels"
have been released.

Pearl Harbor
Marketing More Expensive than Shrek Marketing
(by digitalmediafx.com) Disney went all out in its marketing of
Pearl Harbor, spending an estimated $85 million to market
the film. Add this to the film's $135 million price tag and it
brings the total to $220 million. Despite nearly unanimous negative
reviews, research firm Salomon Smith Barney believes that the
end result of the film will improve Disney's stock price by up
to 25 cents a share.

Meanwhile,
DreamWorks spent an estimated $45 million in the marketing of
Shrek (this does not include money spent by tie-in partners).
Add that to the cost of creating the film (approximately $70 million),
and that brings its total to $115 million.

The marketing
campaigns by DreamWorks and Disney are some of the most expensive
marketing campaigns ever for a movie.

"Thanks
to a couple of surprise presents from America named Fat Man and
Little Boy, a cloud of fear has hung over Japan for the past 55
years. And nowhere has that fear manifested more than in Japanese
animation "